Queen's Savior Or Witch's Knight
by Nova Phoenixx
Summary: Zelena found a way to hurt Regina. Better than killing her, better than having Rumple torture her, better than removing her heart or turning back time. She'll take away something her heart wants most...or even worse, someone. Wicked Swan/Savior. Swan Queen.
1. Chapter 1

_**Since this is my first story in the Once section, I guess I should probably do the disclaimer thing. **_

_**Nope, I do not own Once Upon a Time or the characters in it. If I did, Oooooo boy, it would not be on ABC.**_

_**This is a, and I'm not sure of the name yet, Wicked Swan/Wicked Savior/Zemma story, but its also Swan Queen, that is end game. It came to me recently, like what if Zelena wanted to hurt Regina by taking away what she loves, but her original plan went out the window when she saw how she acted around Emma.**_

_**Welp. Here we go.**_

_**AN: The cover Image is from Tumblr, not sure the owner. If you are said creator and read this, and want me to remove it, just let me know. If you dont mind me using it, then Yayyyyy. and Thank You.**_

* * *

For the Taking

Regina Mills stood before a mirror fixing her hair. Trying to run the things she planned to say over and over. She saw it fit to practice before possibly making a fool of herself. She cleared her throat before beginning.

"Hello Miss Swan, lovely day we're having?"

'_No, no_.' Regina thinks, shaking her head. _Too cliché_.

"Hello Miss Swan. If you don't mind me saying, you look quite lovely today."

'_Dammit, no not that either. Not yet anyway.'_ Regina cleared her throat before speaking again.

"Hey Emma, wanna go somewhere and make out?" Regina said with one hand on her waist and a 'come hither' look on her face. It was a look she could only maintain for 5 seconds before she realized how ridiculous she looked. She sighed.

"28 years in this world, and I still haven't property picked up its courtship methods."

Regina had been struggling with how to tell Emma that she likes her, for a while now. Although they are on better terms now, after rescuing their son from Neverland, Regina still found herself awkward in the presence of the Savior. She found herself reverting back to her teenage ways, like a young crush filled horse riding master Regina. If that wasn't a struggle, things got far worse because of Pan's curse. How desperately she wanted to include herself in Emma and Henry's new life, but it would have required far more power than she had. So she sent them off alone, completely in belief that she would never see them again. It broke her heart.

A year of her life, unreachable, she found herself returned to Storybrooke, along with everyone who left, some who were not here in the first place. Everyone…..

Except the two people she cared for the most.

Then Emma and their son return, almost out of the blue, apparently thanks to the Pirate. Something down the line she would have to thank him for, possible a round of drinks on her.

So long as he kept his distance from Emma.

Emma still doesn't know how she feels, and even worse, her son doesn't even recognize her. It pains her to no end. She tries to take control of this situation, she gets closer to the both of them, and to Emma it just seems like she just wants to be near Henry, even if he is confused as to whom Regina is. She convinced Emma to allow her to give the young boy a Tour of the town by the one who knew it best. She would nonchalantly try and figure a way to ensnare the blond into the trip as well. It's why she's looking in the mirror, checking her outfit, her makeup, her form, and her pitiful wooing dialogue she wants to attempt, but too fearful to try. She can only hope Snow and David are not home, it would be far more difficult if she had to explain why she also wanted Emma to join them.

* * *

"Oh, Ummm, Regina. Hey, come on in." Snow said as she opened the door for the former Evil Queen.

'_Son of a bitch'_ Regina thinks at the sight of Snow.

"Good Morning, Snow" She said with a smile. She recently made a huge effort to become more cordial and friendly with the Charming family. She not only did it for Emma and Henry, but for herself as well. She wanted to try and burry that old feud between them and move forward. Though it was mostly for Emma, figuring she could score brownie points with the blond if she sees her keeping peace with her mother.

Though it was still for herself.

And Henry of course.

50% for Henry, 45% for Emma, 5% for herself.

….Yeah, that sounded right to Regina.

Plus, she couldn't bring herself to keep a vendetta against a pregnant woman. She told herself she wouldn't bring pain to the life of Snow White's child.

No…Not again…

Regina noticed Henry on the couch playing with Emma, some sort of Video Game, they were fighting against each other. She remembered reading one of Henry's comics before, long before Emma first came to town. She also called to mind a conversation she had with Henry about the many characters from the 'Marvel' and 'DC' Universe. Remembering this knowledge she saw an opening. She walked over to couch.

"Really, Miss Swan? Young Henry here has Superman, do you actually think your Batgirl stands any sort of a chance?"

Emma looked over her shoulder for a second to look at Regina. "How dare you! My Batgirl game is awesome, and just wait until you see my…Oh c'mon!" Emma yelled out.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Henry said as he started to do a dance. Regina watched as superman punched Batgirl high up, through the earth's atmosphere all the way into space, only for Superman to fly up there and punch her back down to earth.

"Son of a…" Emma mumbled, dropping the controller on the couch.

'Superman Wins' Regina heard the announcer say. "What did you expect, Miss Swan. It is Superman. The Man of Steel."

Henry stopped dancing when he heard her voice again. "You know about Super Heroes and stuff, Miss Mills?" It broke her to hear him call her that instead of Mom. It's worse than when he despised her, because at least back then he knew who she was.

"Why yes I do, Henry. In fact, I have a few Comics and Books back at my house I think you would just love. If you want I can drop them off sometime?"

Henry nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, sure. I think I'd like that." Henry replied. Regina smiled. Now, they were already Henry's Comics, but because of his current condition, he didn't know that.

"So, kid. You ready to head out?" Emma asked.

"Yea, lemme just grab my stuff real quick." Henry said as he left to retrieve it from another room. Not noticing what fell from his lap when he rose up. Emma turned to Regina and rose from the couch to walk to her. Regina noticed her attire. Her tank top with exposed bra strap, her black track shorts, her _tight_ black track shorts, her mismatched socks, and getting to know Emma over the past 2 years, the socks were most likely different from each other by choice, and not from the inability to find its matching pair. "Hey, Regina. Promise me you won't try and overwhelm him. Keep it to normal topics, you know. You suddenly tell him the town is full of Fairy tale characters, he's gonna think you're cuckoo for coco puffs." Emma bent over, picking up Henry's cell from the floor, placing her ass, and outline of panties, right in Regina's eyesight.

_Dear god, Emma, what are you doing to me_. Regina thought. She bit her lip at the sight. Her hand twitched, and it took a great amount of will to not reach her hand out to touch the peeking globes of flesh.

Emma didn't notice.

Snow on the other hand…..

"Actually Miss Sw….Emma. I was going to ask if..if you wanted to come along with us?" Regina didn't notice Snow's eyes dart back up from her Fruit and Yogurt Special K cereal.

Emma's face instantly gave Regina the answer to her question before the blond even spoke. "Oh I'm sorry, Regina. I can't. This woman is coming over to talk with Mom about the baby, and I wanna be here, make sure it's all on the up and up. Mom says she's sweet and all, but I wanna meet her for myself. Gotta look out for my baby Bro or Sis you know?"

Regina was disappointed, and it appeared on her face for a moment before it was gone. She cleared her throat. "Yes. I umm, I understand. I'm sure me and Henry will be just fine." Regina replied with her false smile. Though not getting the response she wanted for today, she still wanted to try for another day, maybe even tomorrow. She attempted one more try.

'_Throne or no Throne. I'm still a Queen, dammit! I can do this'_

"You know, some other time, with Henry, or you know, even without him, maybe I can take you ou-" Her sentence was interrupted by a knock at the door. Snow rose to get it, eying Regina curiously as she passed by.

"Hello Darling! "Emma and Regina hear from the door way, spotting Snow guide in a red headed woman. She had an accent that neither of them could place.

'Emma, Emma, she's here, this is the woman I was talking about! This is Zelena."

Regina, almost instantly, had an uneasy feeling about this woman. She wasn't sure why.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Emma said, extending her hand to shake.

"Oh it's a pleasure to meet you too, Emma." Zelena said as she approached the two of them, shaking Emma's hand. She then turned to Regina. "And you must be Regina. It's…..interesting to finally meet you too." She said, extending her hand, a smirk on her face.

Regina didn't necessarily want to shake this woman's hand, but figured it would be considered a rude act, especially to Emma and Snow. She took the woman's hand in hers.

"Hello." Is all that Regina said to her. Instantly turning her attention back to Emma, nodding her head in a different direction, away from Snow and Zelena, indicating she wanted to talk elsewhere. Regina placed her hand on the small of Emma's back, guiding her, something the blond thought nothing of.

Something Snow found strange.

Something Zelena found intriguing.

When they were a few feet away from the chatting pregnant woman and red head, Regina went to try once more. "Um, what I was going to ask you was, maybe, when you're not busy hunting down flying monkeys, do you think maybe I could take yo-"

"I'm ready Miss Mills." Henry said, coming out of a room with his coat on. Regina smiled at him, though disappointed again her attempt to ask the Savior if she could take her out sometime. She loved Henry with all her heart, but damn if that wasn't an inopportune time to interrupt.

"Here, you knucklehead. You dropped your phone. Make sure you don't lose it."Emma said, ruffling Henry's hair. She turned back to Regina. "I'm sorry, Regina. What were you gonna say?"

Regina decided not to ask that question in front of Henry. She didn't want to confuse him or make things awkward, especially if Emma said no, which would probably be a high percentage. She put her hand on Emma's bare shoulder, and couldn't help but run her thumb on the soft flesh.

A pair of eyes takes in this gesture Regina does, and brings a smirk to the lips below them. Lips that didn't belong to Henry, Emma or Snow.

"Don't worry about it, Dear. Another time perhaps." Regina said before turning to Henry. "Are you ready, Henry?"

"Yep. Im all good."

Henry and Regina made their way to the door. Zelena and Snow waving to them both. "You two enjoy your day." The red head said to the leaving duo. There was a smile on her face that Regina could not place. Making the mental note to keep an eye on this woman.

"Ohh. Excuse me for a moment, I have to the bathroom." Snow said as she made her way to the restroom. Leaving Emma and Zelena alone.

"Soooo, Zelena? That's unique. That's defiantly an enchanted forest name if I ever heard one. Pretty cool."

"Why thank you. Emma is quite the fetching name itself."

"Thanks. I kinda like it myself." Emma went to put away the game equipment from her and Henry's battle before. Zelena took in Emma's attire. The female body was never one she paid much attention to, but then again, neither was the male one. She didn't really have time for such things being trapped under her father's thumb, or planning revenge. For some reason, the sight Emma's lower attire caused a funny feeling to appear in her chest.

'_Hmmmm, this may be easier than I thought.'_

Would you mind terribly if I were to use your stove. I would love to make some Tea for your mother, and for you if you'd like?"

"Um, yeah, sure. Go nuts. Snow loves tea, and yea, I would mind some either." Emma said, pointing to the kitchen area. Zelena made her way to the kitchen, preparing to boil some water. Snow exited the bathroom, making her way over to Emma. Wanting to ask her something since Regina first showed up.

"Hey, um, do you think it was a good idea to send Henry out alone with Regina, especially since he doesn't even remember her?"

"Regina was persistent; she really wanted to spend some time with him. I mean, he doesn't have a clue who she is right now, can you imagine what that's doing to her. I couldn't really say no."

Snow still looked apprehensive.

"Oh c'mon, she can't steal him or anything. You guys still can't cross the town line. He's safe with her. He has his cell phone. Besides, Henry knows the tactic for strangers if they get handsy, kick em in the balls or shin, or both, and run like shit."

Snow looked confused, turning her head to the side.

"We lived in New York for over a year. Creeper capital of the world."

Snow and Emma's conversation kept their attention away from Zelena, who was busy sprinkling something in the Savior's tea.

"Tea's ready." Zelena called from the kitchen.

"Oooo, Tea. I loveeee Tea!" Snow said, power walking to the kitchen.

"Yea you do." Emma replied, following her. They all sat down at the table as Zelena sat the cups in front of them. "Thank you, Zelena. This is very nice of you. Making Tea, offering to help me with the baby. I mean I'm just so clueless about all of this. It's been years since I have given birth and it wasn't even in this world."

"Think nothing of it, Darling. It's my pleasure to help."

Snow smiled as she brought the cup to her lips and began to drink.

Emma brought the cup to hers as well, preparing for her sip. "So, you did this stuff in the Enchanted Forest as well? The whole midwife thing?" Emma asked, bringing her cup back down before taking that sip.

"Yes I did, dear. For one of the local cities in the kingdom, don't mean to sound full of myself, but hadn't gotten any complaints, so I must be doing something right." Zelena said smiling. Emma nodded, content with the answer since her lie detector didn't go off. Something Zelena knew about this woman, and made sure to bring along an item to get around that pesky little power. She brought the cup back up to her lips.

Before another question came to mind.

"So, did you know Snow while you guys were all in Fairy Tale land?"

"Of course! Everyone knew of the King and Queen. Everyone loved them as well…..Well, before the Evil Queen came in and took over." Zelena turned her attention to Snow.

"The woman who just left, Regina. That's her isn't it? The Evil Queen? I have never seen her during her Reign, but I have heard the name."

"Um, yes. That was Regina. We're trying to put all that stuff behind us. Start anew. You know?"

"Yes, I assumed there was some kind of peace between you, since you so easily allowed her into your home. You truly are a kind and gracious woman, far better than most. I know many who would want great revenge on the woman if they were betrayed as you were." Zelena placed her hand over Snows.

Snow had a bittersweet smile on her face. "There are a lot of emotions between us. A lot of pain, but I would rather have peace, it's what I have always wanted for Regina and I. I'd rather have my family than some pointless war. Also, it's very hard to shoot Arrows while I'm pregnant."

Everyone at the table chuckled at Snow's remark.

Emma brought the cup to her lips, attempting to sip her Tea.

Before another question stopped her again.

"So, you sure you're not some type of Fairy Tale villain in disguise? Like Mother Gothel or Cruella De Vill?"

'_Oh hell, women. Drink the damn Tea!'_

"Emma!" Snow admonished.

"No no, it's quite alright dear. It's very comforting to see a daughter so protective of their mother. It's smart to question me, make sure I'm not out to hurt Snow or her baby. No dear, I'm not Gothel, and frankly, I'm far too allergic to dogs to be Cruella. I promise you, I am not in any way out to hurt either of them."

"Is that good enough for you Emma? See, she's fine, she just wants to help." Snow reasoned with her daughter.

Emma nodded. "Yeah yeah, I get it. Sorry bout the 3rd degree, just gotta make sure. Had some problems with people pretending to be what they're really not."

"Like I said dear, caution is important. Frankly id be worried if you didn't question me."

"See. Zelena gets it." Emma said to Snow. Gesturing to the Red head with the same hand that held the cup. She then brought that cup to her lips, finally tasting the tea. An act that made Zelena smile.

"Mmmmmm, Peppermint. Not bad."

Snow didn't see Emma's eyes glow green for a few seconds.

But Zelena did.

* * *

After a few hours of talking about what she does and how she would help Snow, and another similar questioning from David on his return, Zelena made her way out of the Charming household. Accompanied by Emma who saw it fit to walk the woman out. Hands in pockets, after having finally put on pants, to Zelena's disappointment, Emma began to speak.

"Hey. Sorry about earlier. Glad to see you see you know your stuff. I think Snow is in good hands."

"To take care of Snow White, to see she will have a healthy baby?. Why it's a dream come true." Zelena said smiling. She was also smiling for another reason, because of Emma's attitude throughout the rest of the morning. The looks she gave Zelena when she thought she wasn't looking, the light touches she gave when they were close. The smiles. Zelena was glad to see potion working.

'_Hmmm, now to test it._' Zelena put on a an expression of bashfulness.

"Miss Swan, I hope this isn't too forward of me, but I happen to find you very interesting…and quite frankly, very attractive. I hope this isn't a conflict with my helping your mother, but would you like to have Breakfast together tomorrow morning?"

Emma began to blush at Zelena's request, pushing some of her hair behind her ear.

"Ummm, yeah sure. Yeah, I think I'd like that." Emma said, smiling, She wasn't sure where these new feeling s were coming from, it's like they hit her all of a sudden, but she wasn't gonna question them. Not when they were making her feel good. Zelena stepped closer to the Savior.

'_Good, good. Now let's try…'_

Zelena placed her hand on Emma's cheek, stroking it, before she leant forward to kiss Emma. The blond was very shocked, but not displeased. Since the morning, after they all got acquainted, she has felt an urge to kiss the pretty Red head, so this was nice. She began to kiss back, lips moving against lips, her hands coming up to Zelena's hair. She could feel Emma's tongue try to make its way into her mouth, but she would have to put a stop to that for now, didn't want to go too far.

She broke the kiss, leaving them both gasping.

"Oh crap, crap, crap. I'm sorry, was that too much?"

"No, no, it's just; umm…well I'm not used to kissing really. I guess it's been a while."

Emma seemed surprised. "Really? Pretty woman like yourself. Figured you would be beating them off with sticks or swords or slingshots or whatever other weapons people used in the Enchanted Forest."

Zelena blushed at her comment, a legitimate blush, and it surprised her how the blonde's comment made her feel. She want used to being called pretty.

"You're sweet darling. One could say the same thing about you."

"Ha!, Yeah, well, I've had my fair share of people in my life, not all good." Emma said looking down in thought before shaking her head, clearing her thoughts. "So, is Granny's cool, tomorrow?"

"Ah yes, I have grown quite fond of that establishment. Yes that would be great."

"Ok then. Tomorrow. Is 9:00?"

"Yes, 9 is very….cool." Zelena said, beginning to walk past Emma, but not before placing a kiss on her cheek. Making Emma blush again.

"See you tomorrow, sweetheart." Zelena said, making her way down the block.

"Yeah…tomorrow." Emma said to herself, touching the spot where Zelena kissed her, smiling, before she made her way back upstairs. Happier than when she first came down.

* * *

_**Since this Is my first story on this side, Reviews would be very appreciated. I wanna know how I'm doing, and how I could make it better.**_

_**I wonder if I will start something here, I have only seen one story on the sight with Zelena. Maybe Im starting the Wicked Swan/Savior wave. More stories should be created with her. **_

_**C'mon now people! Rebecca Mader is hot!**_

_**FYI: The scene where Emma and Henry are playing a game, the game and characters and over the top Special Move all exist. Its called Injustice: Gods Among Us, if anyone wanted to know. I think they were playing Diablo III in the actual show, but I wanted to use something else.**_


	2. Conversations by the Three

_**Wow. Well, I gotta say, I was very surprised by all the Reviews and Favs and Follows. Thank you all very much, glad to know some people enjoyed what I'm doing. Here I am continuing. I should probably let you all know one thing, I'm not the greatest at updating my stories in a 'specific time frame'. If you look on my page, you'll see stories that haven't been updated in months.**_

_**But I am working on them! Its just classes had gotten in the way.**_

_**AN: This chapter has elements from the episode "The Tower". Its my take on it. Next chapter will probably have the stakeout scene, which obviously happened in the episode before it "Witch Hunt". Its my rearranging it a bit for my story. Other things will also be changed a bit, so its AU, but its not AU.**_

_**Feel me?**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: Conversations by the Three**

"The Ice cream good?" Regina asked Henry. The two walking a path in the park, right by the lake.

"Delicious," Henry replied. "My mom used to take me for gelato in little Italy." Regina looked at henry, almost afraid he might not actually like what she just bought him. Henry held up the treat. "But this is just as good."

"Well, Storybrooke's got its own charms, though I know it must seem quaint compared to the big city."

"It's nice, actually. New York's great, but there's so many people, it can make you feel…."

"Alone." Regina said, finishing Henry's statement.

"Yeah." Henry agreed.

"Mm. Yeah. That's the best part of a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It's like… It's like a big family." Regina said smiling at Henry, then looking down.

"Can I tell you something?" Henry asked, stopping in front of Regina.

"Sure."

"I don't think it was just the case that brought my mom to Storybrooke."

"Uh, what do you mean?" Regina asked, stepping closer to him.

"I think she wanted to get out of New York for a while."

"W-why do you think that?"

"My mom's boyfriend, his name was Walsh. He proposed to her."

"Oh." Regina said, face of curiosity. Although, inside, never before as anything her son said, except telling her he didn't love her, has saddened her like this before. Emma had a boyfriend.

"And two days later, she's taking me out of school for some job in Maine. She wouldn't take a job in Queens if it meant I'd miss school." Henry said confused.

"What do you think happened?"

"I don't know. But I doubt we'd be here if she said yes." Henry said, causing Regina's eyebrow to raise. Almost with a small glimmer of hope. Like there was still a chance, even if it didn't actually look like it. Although never having met this Walsh character, she instantly hated him for how close he gotten to Emma. To make a proposal to someone means you have spent much time with each other. Regina wondered how much of the lost year the two of them spent together.

And what they did.

"Were he and your mother acquaintances for very long?"

Henry thought for a moment. "Only for about a year now. But I guess proposals are Ok if you know someone for that long."

"What about Miss Swan. Could you tell if she enjoyed the company of this fellow very much?"

"Yeah, she really seemed to like him. He would visit a lot and he would hang out with us, even if he and my mom didn't go out that night. They would talk and laugh. He was real nice to me, he would even play Video Games with me." Regina nodded her head. She now hated this Walsh even more for how close he had gotten to her son, but she was also glad to see the man was kind and respectful to her son, because if he wasn't….

There was another question burning in her mind that she wanted to ask Henry. It seemed like an inappropriate question to ask him, and very personal of an intrusion into Emma's life. Based on the amount of time that they spent together, she could guess the answer, but wanted a concrete response if she could get one. She knew her son was a smart and keen boy. Though it still didn't help with her conflict.

"Henry….you're a growing young man, so I'm sure that….well, you know that adults like to do things privately. Correct?"

Henry stopped eating his ice-cream to look at Regina. He wasn't exactly sure what she was asking. "Yea?" He asked confusedly. Regina could see that he didn't completely understand. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning down closer to him. She hated having to explain this subject a bit further. "Mature things." She said. He thought about it for a moment, until it hit him. And his eyes went wide for a second. "Ummm, yeah?" He said in a 'why are you asking me that' type of manner.

Regina cleared her throat. "Well, would you happen to know if your mother and her…..companion had such time together?" It didn't get any more awkward for Regina then asking her son if his birth mother had sex with her boyfriend.

'Ummm. I'm sorry Mrs. Mills b-"

"Oh no, there's no Mister." She replied, chuckling.

"Oh, sorry. I'm sorry but….t-that seems like a question you should ask my mom. I'm not really sure if I should answer that." Regina nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, I understand." She stood back straight up as they started walking again. Henry noticed the change in the air, he noticed the disappointed look that Regina tried to hide. He wasn't sure why she looked a bit sad, but he suddenly felt a need to try and reassure the woman, to give her an answer.

"Well, I umm guess they might have."

Regina stopped and looked at Henry. "I'm sorry?" She asked.

"My mom, sometimes she would ask if I could stay over at a friend's house on some of her date nights. So…I guess they might have gotten close in the way you mean." Henry tried not to shudder at the thoughts that just jumped through his head.

Regina closed her eyes, satisfied to get an answer, but mournful that is was not the answer she was looking for. Again, Henry noticed the look on Regina's face. Noticed the disappointment it held finding out that his mother was with another person in such a way. The wheels began to turn in his head. "Thank you, Henry. I apologize, as I shouldn't have asked you such a question, it was highly inappropriate of me."

Henry nodded, agreeing with her in that regard, but not admonishing her for it. "It's ok. D-do you mind if I ask why you wanted to know that?"

Regina was afraid that he would ask that. She could not very well come out and say 'I'm in love with your birth mother, and the very thought of another touching her drives me into a rage'. She thought of another thing to say. "I consider your mother a…friend, and I wanted to make sure that he treated her with the respect she deserved and did not try to take advantage of her." Henry accepted the answer for now, but he decided to keep his eyes open the next time he was around both his mother and Miss Mills.

"And how do you feel about it? Did you like him, this…..Walsh?' Regina asked, her eyes darkening as she said his name. Like she didn't want to say it. She wanted to get a gauge on how her son felt about the man.

"I liked how happy he made her. Plus, it might be nice having more than two place settings during the holidays."

"I think one day, you'll have more family than you'll know what to do with."

"You think so?"

"I really do."

* * *

Zelena walked into the cellar outside of her current residents, food on a tray, ready to present it to her prisoner. "Well, well, look whose back."

"How's your cage, Dark one? I'm sorry you have no windows down here." She put the tray down on a table nearby. Rumple stared back at her. "You look like you want to hurt me. Go on, then. Give it a go." Zelena said, letting out a mischievous like chuckle. She went to his cage and waved her hand, magically unlocking it. As she went inside, Rumple stood in preparation to attack her. "I'd love to see you try, especially when we both know that you can't, not when I have this." She held up the Dagger in front of him, causing him to back off. "You're a slave to it. And to me. Frustration can be so intoxicating on others. The only one that can do the hurting here is me. So why don't you be a good boy and sit back down?" Rumple sat back on his stool.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Don't let me stop you." Rumple said. Zelena looked from to Dagger to Rumple's face as he held up his fingers. "All the voices in my head, will be quiet when I'm… dead." Zelena giggled. "I'm not here to kill you, Rumple. But you really need to keep up appearances."

He looked confused. "Appearances? Appearances? For what? For why?" He turned towards his spinning machine. "Let me spin. Spin the madness away." He began to spin until Zelena spoke again. "No. I think the spinning is bringing the madness. Here, come closer." She said leaning forward, griping his chin and bringing him closer as well, inspecting his face. "Now, hold still, lest you want me to nick that pretty face." She started to shave him with his Dagger.

"You're probably wondering how I know how to do this." She stopped to wipe the blade clean with a towel. "Did I ever tell you about my father? His hands used to shake from drink or….worse. I didn't ask.  
He didn't tell me." She continued her task. "But he couldn't abide going a day without a shave, so I had to learn how to shave him." She stopped again to clean it before continuing to shave.

"He used to say that no matter what we were feeling on the inside, we had to put on our best face. In our land, you and I never had that choice, did we? No matter what we did, our outsides showed exactly what was _rotting_ on the inside. But we're in a new land now, aren't we? A land filled with opportunity, not the least of which is to look our best." Rumple gave out a light gasp at being nicked with the blade. "Oh I'm so sorry. Did that sting?" Zelena said, running he finger over the tiny wound, examining the blood that was on it. She ran her hands over his newly clean shaven face, letting out another giggle. "There. Handsome as ever." She said standing up, walking out of his cage. "Appearances. You don't care about appearances. If you cared about appearances, you'd change my shirt." Rumple said.

"I do care about appearances. In fact, it is my appearance that will play into my favor tomorrow. I'd ask you to help me with my makeup if I thought you had any sort of skill in that department. You see, Rumple, I have a date tomorrow with a special…someone. It is through that someone that I will achieve a goal of mine." Zelena looked up in though. "Actually, maybe more than just one goal." She laughed naughty. "I have to admit, my plans have changed. I thought my original one was sufficient, but this one is far more satisfying… and delicious."

"Just exactly what is it you want?' He asked.

Zelena laughed. "What I want, is become the catalyst for her destruction. I want to be a part of it in every way. I want to watch the pieces fall into place, and enjoy every moment of her pain and anguish. It's the difference between just dropping a bomb on a town when they don't know what's coming, and going into each and every home and directly being the one who rips the light from their eyes." She moved over the food tray, picking it up. "It's far more satisfying to watching the poison run its course through them, eating at them, then to just fire a shot and watching the body fall."

"Who? Who are you talking about?" Rumple asked. Zelena just smirked, placing the tray in his cage before closing it. "Eat up, dear." She said, pulling the string that turned off the light, before ascending the stairs to leave Rumplestilskin alone again.

* * *

Regina and Henry returned to the charming's apartment later that afternoon. She wondered why Emma and Henry were saying here when they originally got a room at Granny's. When she knocked, Emma opened thee door, wearing more clothes than she did that morning, much to Regina's disappointment.

"Hey kid, how was your day?"

"It was pretty cool. Miss Mills showed me around the town, I saw some nice places, met some nice people. Storybrooke is a weird place, but cool. I mean, it's not New York but, I don't know, it just feels…." Henry looked up at Regina. "It just feels warm...like home."

Regina smiled back at him, glad that even though he didn't currently have his memories, he still felt like he belonged in Storybrooke. Which is what Regina wanted. "Miss Mills took me to the clock tower, you know, the one with the library inside. They had all these cool books inside, and the shopkeeper, her name was Belle, she was really cool and nice. She even let me check out some books for free, which was awesome." Henry said, his mouth running a mile a minute.

"Cool. Lemme see watcha got." Emma said to him. Henry looked confused for a second, before smacking himself in the head. "Damn! I left them in the car." Regina looked at Emma, raising and eyebrow at her. _'Damn?'_ She soundlessly mouthed to the blond, who scrunched her face and gave a shrug. Regina pulled out her car keys. "Would you like to run out and get them?" She asked, extending her keys to him.

"Thank you, I'll be right back!" Henry said, taking the keys and running out of the apartment. Regina turned and watched him leave, spinning back towards Emma only when the door closed.

"Damn, huh? You're teaching Henry how to swear now?"

"I-I just, he's thirteen now and, well being in New York, you hear language like that, and worse almost every day. He kept asking and asking to be able to curse now that he's a teenager, but I didn't want him to so soon. Soooooo, I just gave him access to a little low level curse word."

Regina's face remained deadpanned. "What?! Damn isn't really a bad word. Beavers make them, you know."

"Yes, I'm aware." Regina started walking the apartment. "So, where are your lovely mother and father?"

"Well, Snow went to the dinner to get something to eat. Weird pregnant cravings and all. David is out with Hook and Robin and his archer friends, patrolling the areas near the town line. I told him to take a Shotgun, which should put almost any mysterious creature down." Emma said while yawning and stretching.

"It should indeed." Regina replied. Transfixed by the exposed expanse of Emma's midriff.

_'Gods. Even her bellybutton is cute.' _Regina thought. Suddenly getting the naughty idea to run her tongue over that exposed flesh.

"Hey!" Emma said. Regina quickly looked up, hoping to had not been caught staring.

"Yes?" Regina replied, removing the glazed look from her eyes.

"You're positive about all this flying monkey business, right?"

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"

"Well, because...ah, it's nothing." Regina was going to let it go there, until she remembered something that Emma said a few days ago. Something she said low and probably thought she didn't here.

_'Wouldn't be the first flying monkey I dated' _

Regina originally thought that Emma was joking. But now….

"So you were serious about having dated a 'flying monkey'."

"Um, well maybe."

"I assumed you were making an offhanded comment about the situation, comparing an ex to the monkey and finding similarities, but you were being truthful. So I'm guessing it is your most recent boyfriend, this…Walsh character I presume?"

"Yep. That's the on-wait. How do you know about Walsh? Did Henry tell you? Why would he do that?"

"He was merely concerned with your well-being. He found it odd you would suddenly leave a city and take him out of school." Regina moved closer to Emma. Based on what Henry told her earlier, Walsh's monkey form did not come into contact with her son, and for that she was very grateful. "More importantly, are you ok? Did he hurt you at all?"

Emma sputtered a bit. "Ummm, well, not real-it's nothing. Don't worry about it. Nothing I couldn't handle." Emma was severely downplaying the situation for Regina, as it was truly the most pain she had ever felt save for giving birth to Henry.

Regina instantly that she must had gotten into a fight with him, and she knew that her altercation with the beast hadn't gone without cost.

"Where?" Regina said.

"Regina, its fine. It's just a lit-"Regina stepped closer to Emma, placing her hand on her shoulder. Her determination dominating her nervousness of making contact.

"Miss Sw…Emma. Where?"

Emma stared back at Regina for a moment before she sighed, and began unbuttoning her shirt. Regina swallowed at the sight of Emma's black bra, it was a beautiful sight to the former queen, and it hurt that she couldn't openly admire it as she wanted to. Once off, Emma moved her hair to one side and turned her back towards Regina. The former Evil Queen audibly gasped at the sight. From the beginning of Emma's neck on the right side leading all the way down to her lower back on the left was a scar.

"Oh god. Emma." Regina said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"It's fine Regina. Besides, I consider myself lucky. There were other, I guess more vulnerable times where he could have done far worse."

Regina reached out her hand, running her fingers slowly down the scar. Emma flinched at the touch. Regina's hand was very soft, and she had to admit, after feeling such pain, a soft touch in the same area was very welcomed.

Regina could feel the mark, and it still looked relatively new. Only a few days old.

"Had a little scuffle on the roof. Yeah, he got me, but he's gone and I'm not." Regina felt a rage building in her. She couldn't get to this Walsh, but she was going to find out who its master is, and make them pay dearly.

"Before you ask, Henry is fine. No hidden scars or anything. He never even saw the monkey."

"I figured that would have come up during our talk about the _bastard_. Regina said." Emma chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm sure he would have loved to share that knowledge."

Regina's hand reached the end of the scar, and as she spoke, unknowingly began to descend a bit lower. "And you willingly let this trash touch you…" Regina mumbled to herself. Emma overheard.

"Well, it was kind of hard to avoid. He was kinda wild swinging his claws everywhere."

"I didn't mean that fight. Although you being injured isn't acceptable as well."

Emma thought for a moment what Regina could have been saying. When she realized Regina meant in a romantic manner, Emma blushed.

"Hehe. Yeah well, that didn't necessarily come up on the first date. If it had I would have reconsidered dating him."

"You should have been more careful."

"I thought I was careful."

"Obviously not enough." Regina said, feeling that old urge to clash with Emma start up.

"Well excuse me for not knowing my boyfriend was an animorph." Emma said as she joked and tried to defuse the growing tension she knew from countless times before was coming by referencing the late 90's TV show. A reference she was positive went right past Regina.

"You should have been more thorough in examining the people you let into your life, and my son."

"_Our_ son, Regina. Let's not start that again." Emma countered.

"You let your lust drive you into a precarious relationship." At that, Emma turned around to face Regina.

"Excuse me? My lust? I got into that relationship because I thought he was nice and sweet and YES I found him attractive, but I also thought we had a connection. I thought I was thin-"

"You were thinking alright, Miss Swan, thinking of your own personal needs." Regina couldn't fight what she was feeling at the moment. She could practically feel the Evil Queen leaking out of her. Even though Emma was not hers, she felt that royal spark of entitlement rising in her. She hated Walsh, and was jealous of at the same time. Just like she was of the Thief, and that one hand womanizer.

Regina couldn't hurt Walsh, but right now she could try to hurt Emma, even though she didn't want to. Hurting someone else was the only way she knew how to numb her own pain. She stepped towards Emma. "Was he good enough for you? Huh? How many times was he able to make you release?" She lowered her voice. "Was his size adequate enough to satisfy the 'Savior'?" Regina spat out.

Regina's words hit a nerve in Emma, as if to say she would put sex before the safety of her own son. She then felt the same anger she did long ago in the graveyard. She once again wanted to punch Regina in her face, only this time, she restrained herself. Her words hurt more because she believed that the two of them were getting along better, almost friendly, and she felt like Regina was trying to destroy the development that they made.

Regina also noticed the tense stance in Emma, and feared she may have stepped a line with the blonde. She remembered the last time she went too far with the blonde.

Her jaw hurt for a week.

Emma relaxed and sounding hurt replied.

"Fuck you, Regina."

"Please." Regina said, raising an eyebrow. The tone she meant to give out was convey her indifference to Emma's insult, but she unknowingly projected a hopeful tone. One that caused Emma's face to react in a shocked way. Regina, trying to erase her mistake, stepped away and insulted her again.

"You're an Idiot. Just like your idiot parents." Emma's shock subsided after another of Regina's jabs.

"You know, I'm about sick and fucking tired of you ragging on my parents, and I told you already, Regina, he didn't touch Henry!"

"And what about you?! You're indifference to your own well-being pisses me off! What would Henry and I have done if you had gotten yourself killed?!"

"Then it would have been m-" Emma stepped towards Regina, ready to counter again, until what Regina said hit her.

"Wait….Hold on, what? Henry I get, why would it matter to you? What do you mean what would _you_ have done?" Emma asked confusedly. Regina suddenly realized what had slipped out, and struggled to find an appropriate response. "I…I-I-I just merely meant that...I mean Henry would have been devast-"

She was saved by the approaching steps running up the stairs. Henry upon entering, took in the scene. His mother with her shirt off and bra exposed, and Miss Mills, but didn't speak on it. Regina blushed at being caught by Henry so closed to his partially exposed mother.

"Ummmm, thanks, Miss Mills. Here are your keys." He said, handing them back to her. Emma took that time to put her shirt back on, making sure Henry didn't see the scar. He didn't know what happened and she wanted it to stay that way.

"No problem. By the way, Miss Mills seems so informal. If you want, you can call me Regina?" She said, hopeful. "Yeah, sure. Thank you, Regina. I enjoyed today. Maybe we could do it again sometime."

"I enjoyed it as well. Yes we can. Anytime, and I do so sincerely mean that." She said, smiling at him. Henry smiled back.

"I'm gonna go and get started reading. See you later." Henry said, holding up the books as he started walking past Regina and Emma going into a room down the hall, before he stopped. "Oh, mom. When you're done could you come here? Something I wanna show you."

"Yeah, sure kid. Gimme a minute." She replied. He nodded and kept moving down the hall. When the door closed, the two looked at each other again, both feeling very awkward, and Regina very remorseful.

"Emma…the things I said. I-I apologize. They were out of line, and I let my anger and fear for Henry's life speak for me. I shouldn't have done that, I had no right to speak on your…relations with that man. I know you're a great mother and would never intentionally jeopardize Henry in any way."

Regina rarely apologized to anyone, and Emma being on the receiving end this time, like the maybe two other times, she still felt weird on how to respond. Also, it was still awkward and she still was a little mad at Regina's words.

"Its-its fine Regina. Don't worry about it." Emma said, walking towards the kitchen, thinking Regina would get the hint that her welcome has now been overstayed.

The hint wasn't received, as Regina slowly followed her.

"I mean it, Emma." Regina was adamant and wanted to clear the air and try to cleanse this little clash. She didn't want a wall to build between them again, it was the last thing she wanted.

For her own conscious.

So she can still get closer to Henry.

And, she had to admit, so she can get closer to Emma.

She knew one way back into Emma's good graces was through her stomach. "How about you allow me to treat you to Breakfast tomorrow? If I remember one thing, it's your love for granny's chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs. All three of which you loved to drown in syrup which I always found odd, but ….endearing." Regina said smiling, hoping it helped. "It could be you, Henry and I. Or, if he is unable to make it, then….I wouldn't mind if it was just the two of us.

Emma couldn't help but chuckle. She found it sweet that Regina actually remembered her usual order at the diner. Now she had to tell her why she couldn't go.

"I appreciate that Regina, but I'm actually going to breakfast tomorrow with someone." Regina's hopeful expression dropped at Emma's words. Another chance, taken from her. She wanted to know the source.

"Ah. With the pirate, I assume?" Regina said, bitterly. "It'll be quite hard for him to use utensils properly with one hand. You sure you want to go through that awkward situation? Look." Regina raised bother her hands up in front of Emma, twisting them. "See, I happen to possess both working hands." Regina said, trying to entice Emma to accept her offer.

Emma chuckled. "Yes, I can see that. No, not Killian. Anyway, you should lay off of Hook. If it wasn't for him I probably would have bled out on that roof."

Regina, hearing that had her disdain for the Pirate drop, but not completely disappear. If he really did save her life, then she couldn't completely hate him.

Though he did still kiss her, and that was a 'No-No' in her book.

Regina dreaded asking the next person, but there weren't many men in this town she saw on Emma's level, not that she considered Hook to be on such a level, but the male pickings were slim. Gold's son was gone, and so was Graham. Most were already dating, married or just unappealing. "W-with Whale?"

Regina suddenly swore, if Emma said it was Whale, she would confess her love for her right there on the spot.

Emma looked at Regina as if she had three heads. "What? Whale? Geeze Regina, I rather date the flower shop guy than Whale." Regina inwardly gave a sigh of relief, but she still had no clue as the person's identity. She didn't want to continue to be inquisitive….

But she did…

"Ah. So then, who happens to be the lucky individual?" Regina tried to ask in a nonchalant manner, but it wasn't as effective as she wanted it to be.

"Actually, it's Zelena."

Regina's eyes widened at her words, and they actually stung more than if she would have said Whale, because at least Whale was a guy.

Zelena is not.

"Zelena? You mean the _woman_ who was here earlier? Your mother's midwife?"

"Yep. That's her."

"And you're going out on a date with this woman? A woman you only met today?"

"Well, yeah. She asked and I think it's nice. Besides, since this morning, I just been feeling this….I don't know, pull to her, you know? Almost…magical."

"Ah. I see." Regina said, her attitude complete deflated. Emma picked up on it.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Y-you do?" Regina asked.

"Yes. You're thinking I'm making a mistake and moving on so fast after Walsh. Well, we didn't break up, he tried to kill me. I think that killed the whole 'getting over your ex' thing for me. Also I really doubt Zelena is some sort of monkey or evil mastermind or witch." Emma kept going.

"Or, you're thinking about the fact that Zelena is a woman, and so am I."

"It may have crossed my mind."

"I guess that's something you haven't really seen in the Enchanted Forest. It's a lot more common here."

Regina let out a little laugh. "Trust me, I have seen same gender relations in our world. There were many people in the kingdom and surrounding areas who found love with another man or another woman. I'm not offended by it at all, believe me."

"Oh. Well that's good."

Something started to pick at Regina. How long had Emma had feelings for other women? She had no reason to believe that Emma enjoyed the company of women before. Was Zelena the first? "Are there any other women here in Storybrooke you may have found…appealing?" Emma looked at her.

"If that's not too much of a question to ask." Regina quickly replied, not wanting to drive the conversation down the path it was moments ago.

Emma sat on the edge of the table and laughed. "Well, I mean, sure. Ruby is pretty, and Belle too. Ummm…" Emma looked at Regina and then quickly looked away. Regina caught the look, and the slight pink that appeared on Emma's cheek. A smirk appeared on the former Evil Queen's face.

"I should probably go check on the kid, make sure he hasn't fallen into the books."

"Yes. I should go as well." Regina said dolefully, making her way to the door. "Maybe when you're done with your…date, you can assist in helping us find out who took a year of our lives away from us." Regina left the apartment. As much as she hated finding out that another would be enjoying such personal time with the blonde woman, she couldn't feel completely somber. By the look she got, she knew one thing.

Emma Swan found her attractive.

She may have lost this particular battle to this, Zelena woman.

But Regina Mills would be damned if she gave up hope just yet.

* * *

_**And that's the end of that one.**_

_**Please Review...You know, if you can.**_

_**I just graduated from College today, so...you know. Reviews would be awesome. **_

_***Wink Wink***_

_***Nudge Nudge***_

_**...*Sighs* Peer Pressure is bad, you know.**_


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